Toothbrush and dentifrice container



March 25, 1947. H. A. KEHL TOOTHBRUSH AND DENTIFRICE CONTAINER Filed June 2, 1945 INVENTO ATTORNEY Fatented Mar. 25, 1947 STATES PATENT OFFKZE TOOTHBRUSH AND DENTHRICE: CONTAINER 9 Claims.

Thisinventi-on relates to a combined toothbrushholder and a tooth-powder container in which the toothbrush is in contact with the tooth-powder when it is Within the container, thereby eliminating the ordinary pouring of the tooth-powder on the toothbrush.

An object of the invention is to provide a toothpowder container having an opening therein substantially the size and shape of the bristle portion of a toothbrush for receiving the bristles of the brush and providing a slidable cover adapted to embrace that portion of the brush handle which holds the bristles and to close the opening while the bristles are within the container.

A further object or" the invention is to provide a pocket in the cover for receiving the brush handle which, when closed, seals the bristle portion of the toothbrush within the container.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the tooth-powder container and a toothbrush mounted therein with a slidable cover in closed position;

Fig. 2 isa perspective view of the tooth-Dowder container with the toothbrush removed for use and the slidable cover in open position;

Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the tooth-powder container with the slidable cover in open position and a fragmentary view of the toothbrush showing its head of bristles inserted in the opening of the container and with its end bristles resting on the tapered end of said opening, and the outside tip of the head overlapping in alignment with the slidable cover for mounting the toothbrush;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective View of the top of the container illustrating a sealing tab over the opening of the container;

. Fig. 5 is a top plan view of Fig. 1 showing the toothbrush head in section;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the back face of the slidable cover and the toothbrush mounted therein to illustrate lateral flanges which look the head of the toothbrush adjacent itsoutside rows of tufts of bristles;

Fig. '7 is a perspective view of the back face of the slidable cover to illustrate the bottom ledge upon which the head end of the toothbrush rests when in locked position;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the container and a fragmentary view of the toothbrush as shown from the side and to illustrate thebristles of the toothbrush abutting against the undersurface of the container-stop surface as when slidable cover is in closed position, and alsoto illustrate toothe powder capacity of the container; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional. viewof; a modified form of container showing a screw cap and an annular offset edge against which atoothbrush abuts for thelatters locked, closed posi-. tion in operation With the slidable cover."

Referring to the drawings, Figs. 1, 2 and 3,'the structure of the tooth-powder container embodies a receptacle Iii-which stands upright on an enclosed base I3 to a height; greater in length than the diameter of its base. The side wall I5 supports a flat top surface II which is enclosed and'integral with the receptacle. as, a whole, a though may bemodified in design as hereinafter described in Fig. 9: The container. is illustrated as conical in shape in the drawings, but itmay be constructed cylindrical. square, etc., without departing from the spirit of the. invention.

The .angularly shaped. ribs I2, which are in longitudinal spaced relation, form a guide channel on the outer side wall I5 of the receptacle I0 and are positioned substantially perpendicularly from the base I3 tothe fiat topfsurfacev i I of the container. These ribs I2, orflange. tracks, are constructed either integral with the receptacle It or, mounted separately, as requirements of manufacture and-design dictate.

A slidable cover It, as illustrated inFigs. 1, 2 and '3, has, an outwardlyextending body portion I6 and lateral flanges, I8. The lateral flanges I 8;,are slidable in the channel formed by the ribs I2 and the slidable cover It may be moved from a position shown in Fig. 1 tea position shown in Fig. 2, or vice versa. 'The push-button I'I,' fix,- edly mounted or integral with the outer, curved wall of the slidable cover It, facilitates the user of. the container to exert finger pressurev to man-. ually move the slidable cover I4 from one position to the other; this sliding member being in sufiicien tly tight relation to the ribs I2 to cause it to remain stationary at any given point.

The side-wall I5 of'the receptacle I0 is provided with an openingv 20, adjacent theflat top surface H, which is substantially to a shape of the head 2! of the toothbrush I9; the latter. being of adult size, containing the maximum length of bristling employed in manufacture, and for the object hereinafter described. The opening, 201s provided a length and breadth greater than, that of the toothbrush head 2 I, in order to enable. the user to insert the latter into the opening 20 with easeand without dangerof bending'orotherwise injuring the bristles during the manual operation of mounting his toothbrush onto the container. The lower end of the opening 20 is tapered in shape and terminates with a round tip for the purpose of containing and neatly centering the practically similarly shaped tip formed by the tufts of bristles of the toothbrush head 2| hence, this affords automatic alignment with the receiving top, open end of the slidable cover l4 when the toothbrush head 2| is manually inserted into the opening 28, as illustrated in Fig. 3 which shows the bristles projected into the opening 20 and the tip of the head 2| with its body portion 2| exteriorly overlapping the edge of the bottom round tip of the opening 28, being shown in dotted line and with the end tufts of bristles interiorly resting on the lower edge formed by the opening 20. Here and in thus manner the toothbrush l 9 is shown ready to be fully mounted by manually closing the slidable cover M to the position as illustrated in Fig. 1, in closing same the user easily holds the brush handle with the fingers of his left hand position against the top, fiat surface I I while pushing upwardly the slidable cover I4 with the thumb or forefinger of his right hand.

The slidable cover I4, as illustrated in Figs. 6, '7 and 8, has its back wall M in exact conformity regarding contour or curvature of surface with that of the exterior side wall I5 of the receptacle I0, in order to provide a tight but slidable relationship between the two. The slidable cover M, as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 'l, has its back wall It provided with an opening 22 in conjunction with the outwardly extending body portion l6, and has a length which accommodates and houses the toothbrush head 2L. the latter being the aforementioned adult sizef .of maximum length bristling. The body portion 2| of the head H is received between the body portion l6 of the slidable cover l4 and is held firmly in place by the pair of inwardly extending flanges 24, which grip the lateral edges of the body portion 2i on either side adjacent the outer rows of tufts of bristles. As illustrated in Fig.7, a bottom wall 28 is provided substantially horizontally to form a stop, and to a depth limited by the outwardly extending body portion [6. 'When thetoothbrush I9 is placed with the bristles extendingthrough the opening 28, as illustrated in Fig. 3, and the slidable cover I4 is moved to the position shown in Fig. 1, the bottom wall26 comes into contact with the end of the body portion 2! and urges the toothbrush upwardly with the bristles in engagement with the undersurface of the top flat surface I I, the latter also acting as a stop as shown in Fig. 8. Hence, the brush portion is locked tightly on all four sides with only the bristles exposed inwardly of the receptacle l0, and this permits the container to be shaken without dislodging the toothbrush or causing it to jar or rattle inside same, and at the same time, without getting the tooth-powder inefficiently scattered and wasted onanything else except the bristles, either inside or outside of the container. This locked position is also illustrated in Fig. 5, which shows in cross-section the back portion of the head 2! just above the bristles.

The slidable cover i4 may be pushed upwardly to cover the lower, tapered tip of the opening 20 and the tip of the brushhead 2i inserted into the top, open end of the slidable cover l4, thus providing in conjunction with the tapered tip of the opening 26 a pocket holding means while mounting the toothbrush.

As illustrated in Fig. 8, the receptacle l0 contains and holds the powdered dentifrice 3! to ap- 4 proximately the level shown by the dotted line, and to a height slightly below the lower end of the opening 20; the receptacle l0 being shaped in its bottom portion to permit whatever commercial capacity is required.

As illustrated in th drawings, the container is designed to accommodate a toothbrush IQ of adult size with bristling of maximum head length; thus, sizes having a shorter head length are also accommodated because the device provides the manual projection of the slidable cover I4 above the level of the top, fiat surface II, and therefore locking the bristles against the latters undersurface the same as illustrated in Fig. 8.

' As illustrated in Fig. 4 a gummed cover 28, or Cellophane sealing tab provided with a loose tip for disengagement from the container, may be applied over the opening 20 for merchandising tooth-powder.

Fig. 9 illustrates a modified form of receptacle It by provision of a screw cap 29, which is attached to a threaded neck having on its supporting portion an annular offset edge 30; the latter being provided as an interior, horizontal surface against which the bristles of the toothbrush head 21 come into contact when the slidable cover M is moved to closed position. With this modified construction a plastic tooth-powder container can bemerchandised, with or without the dentrifrice and with or without an accompanying toothbrush, to facilitate home re-fills of toothpowder purchased separately.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction of my invention, I do not wish to limit myself to the precise details of construction shown, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as may come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A container for a dentifrice and toothbrush comprising a receptacle having an opening therein substantially the size and shape of the bristle portion of a toothbrush, and a closure member constructed and arranged to fit over a portion of the toothbrush for closing the opening in said receptacle while the toothbrush is positioned in the opening.

2. A container for a dentifrice and toothbrush comprising a receptacle having an opening in a wall thereof substantially the size and shape of the bristle portion of a toothbrush, guides at the opposite edges of the opening, and a cover slidably supported in said guides for closing said opening, said cover being formed to embrace the bristle holding portion of the toothbrush when said cover is in closed position over the opening and toothbrush.

3. A container for a dentifrice and a toothbrush comprising a receptacle having an opening in a wall thereof substantially a size and shape to receive only the bristles of a toothbrush, a channel guide adjacent the opening, a cover slidably mounted in said channel, and a pocket in said cover for receiving the bristle supporting portion of the brush.

4. A container for a dentifrice and a toothbrush comprising a receptacle having an opening in a wall thereof to receive interiorly the bristles of the head of a toothbrush, a channel guide adjacent the opening, a cover slidal )1yv mounted .5 in said channel, a pocket in said cover for receiving the bristle supporting portion of the toothbrush, and lateral flanges integral with said pocket to engage and support the lateral edges of the head of a toothbrush adjacent its bristles.

5. A container for a dentifrice and a toothbrush comprising a, receptacle having an opening in a wall thereof to receive interiorly the bristles of the head of a toothbrush, a channel guide adjacent the opening, a cover slidably mounted in said channel, a pocket in said cover for receiving the bristle supporting portion of the toothbrush, lateral flanges integral with said pocket to engage and support the lateral edges of the head of a toothbrush adjacent its bristles, and an end wall on said pocket limiting its length to that of the bristle supporting portion of the head of a toothbrush.

6. A container for a dentifrice and toothbrush having a fiat top portion and having an opening in the side wall adjacent the top for receiving the bristles of a toothbrush, and a channel shaped slidable cover for the opening having a bottom wall for engaging the end of the bristle supporting head of the toothbrush to urge the bristles into contact with the under surface of said fiat top portion when the toothbrush is in the opening.

7. A container for a dentifrice and toothbrush having an upper open end provided with screw threads, a removable cover for said opening having screw threads for threaded engagement with the threaded open end of said container, and an opening in the side wall of said container substantially the size and shape of the bristle portion of a toothbrush for receiving the latter adjacent the open end of said container, and a slidable channel shaped cover for the side opening constructed and arranged to enclose the bristle portion of said toothbrush when the latter is in the side opening.

8. A container for a powdered dentifrice comprising a receptacle having an opening in a side wall thereof, a, toothbrush head engaging said opening with its bristles projected interiorly therein and the tip of said bristles on the toothbrush head resting upon the lower edge of said opening; longitudinally spaced guide flanges exteriorly integral with said receptacle forming a channel; a slidable cover with lateral flanges in engagement in said channel with said longitudinally spaced guide flanges, and slidably mounted on the exterior side wall of said receptacle; an opening in said slidable cover in alignment with said toothbrush head to contain the latter in closed position, and means provided whereby the toothbrush head is locked in said closed position with its bristle portion exposed interiorly of said receptacle.

9. A container for a powdered dentifrice and a toothbrush comprising a receptacle having an opening in a side wall thereof to receive interiorly the bristles of the head of a toothbrush, said receptacle having an enclosed flat top surface, a channel guide adjacent the opening, a cover slidably mounted in said channel, a pocket in said cover for receiving the bristle supporting portion of the toothbrush, lateral flanges integral with said pocket to engage and support the lateral edges of the head of a toothbrush adjacent its bristles, an end wall on said pocket in abutment with the end of the bristle supporting portion of the toothbrush to slidably provide a stop for same in said pocket, and the undersurface of said enclosed flat top surface of the receptacle also providing an abutment or stop for the bristle portion of the head of the toothbrush when said cover is slidably moved to closed position;

HOWARD A. KEHL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of recordin the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 40 Number Name Date 1,744,260 Chappele Jan. 21, 1930 2,304,227 Zafarana Dec. 8, 1942 1,915,503 Schmidt June 27, 1933 493,528 Spalding Mar. 14, 1893 932,833 Tobin Aug. 31, 1909 2,141,379 Clock Dec. 27, 1938 

